"The Black Mile", by Mark Dawson

The Black Mile - Mark  Dawson

Book #1, Soho Noir series

This is a good mystery that transports us back to the dark streets of London during the time Nazi were bombing the East End. For those not familiar with the lingo this story may be challenging “The Black Mile” uses a lot of period slang to add the feel of the time. 

The story is told from three perspectives: police officers, brothers Frank and Charlie Murphy and newspaper reporter Henry Drake. All three are looking for “The Blackout Ripper” a serial killer murdering prostitutes in the seedy side of London. The setting during the Blitz is recreated very well as well as the atmosphere during that time: Freemason influence at the forefront, police corruption, brother’s feuds, ripper murders, journalists making up stories and the usual scandals. The plot moves quite fast with plenty of twists and turns to derail us and keep us interested. Seemed the real life Jack the Ripper was the inspiration behind this novel but Mr. Dawson did his thing and shown us he is a true master of suspense giving us just enough to pique out attention then leaving us hanging wanting to find out the next move. Although some parts are quite graphic it is nevertheless a gripping story with all the violence, sexual references, description of autopsies and many more gruesome descriptions we expect in such a mystery. “The Black Mile” is a roller-coaster ride of a novel and a page turner.

It may take a while the get a handle on the various characters but as the story moves on and we are able to place them we are into a story that flows smoothly and grabs all our attention. Unfortunately, by the end all threads do not tie down neatly leaving the door open for a sequence. Since this books was first out in 2012, of course by now there is one for us to grab…. Next on my TBR list: ”The Imposter”.